Atkinson woman to serve five years' probation

Amanda S. Lemburg, 30, of Atkinson was sentenced to a five-year term of probation last week for financial exploitation of her grandparents in 2019.

Probation terms include a written apology to her grandparents, to be approved by her probation officer; shall not possess any debit/credit cards or personal checks other than her own; attend and successfully complete a money management course approved by probation officer; and pay $9,000 restitution to her grandparents, at a rate of $150 per month. In addition, she is ordered to pay $1,830 in probation-related fees and $149 costs of prosecution.

Originally charged with three felony counts, Count I, theft by unlawful taking, more than $5,000; Count II, unauthorized use of a financial transaction device, more than $5,000; and Count III, abuse of vulnerable adult, Lemburg took a plea deal and entered a no contest plea to Count III on June 15. In exchange, Nebraska deputy attorney general Mark Collins, serving as special prosecutor for Holt County, dismissed counts I and II and agreed to file no further charges based on facts and circumstances surrounding allegations made in Count III. Both sides agreed to recommend a probation sentence. Lemburg waived a restitution hearing and consented to entry of a restitution order in the amount of $9,033.16, to her grandparents, Larry and Eva Lemburg. The Honorable Mark Kozisek adjudged her guilty as charged on Count III, a Class 3A felony.

The crime took place from February to June 2019, while the victims were residents of a long-term care facility. They had been under the impression that the facility was being paid by their granddaughter, however it was not, according to a probable-cause affidavit filed Dec. 7, 2020, by Douglas Klaumann, an investigator with the Medicaid Fraud and Patient Abuse Unit of the Nebraska attorney general’s office, serving as special state deputy state sheriff per appointment of the governor.

After obtaining the elder Lemburgs’ banking records, Klaumann reported that, instead of paying the facility and other bills, Amanda Lemburg made purchases at various local businesses as well as several Colorado locations and online retail and gaming sites, in addition to making ATM withdrawals.

A warrant was issued for her arrest Dec. 8, 2020, with bond set at $50,000, 10% cash. It was amended to $5,000 personal recognizance Dec. 9. She was represented by Holt County public defender Rodney Smith.